Graduated from Air Force Navigation School, 1953, graduated from Air Force Military Academy, Monino, 1960. Cosmonaut training January 1963 - 21 January 1965. Trained for the Soviet Lunar Landing Program Involved in research on remote sensing of mineral resources from space. Died of cancer.

Soyuz 12 / DOS 1 Crew: Kolodin, Leonov, Rukavishnikov. If the Soyuz 11 crew had not perished during return to the earth, the Leonov crew would have been sent for a second visit to the Salyut 1 space station. A 30-day mission duration was planned. Backup crew: Gubarev, Sevastyanov, Voronov. More...

Soyuz crew manoeuvres - .
Nation: USSR. Related Persons: Rudenko; Mishin; Tsybin; Tyulin; Dolgopolov; Yeliseyev; Volkov; Anokhin; Makarov; Grechko; Komarov; Gorbatko; Khrunov; Bykovsky; Voronov; Kolodin; Gagarin; Nikolayev; Smirnov; Ustinov; Malinovskiy. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1; Soyuz 2A; Soyuz s/n 3/4. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK. Kamanin is back from leave and orients himself. VVS General Rudenko has been visited by Mishin, Tsybin, and Tyulin. They want to replace Kamanin's crews for the first Soyuz mission in September-October with a crew made up of OKB-1 engineers: Dolgopolov, Yeliseyev, and Volkov as the prime crew, Anokhin, Makarov, and Grechko as back-ups. Kamanin believes this absurd proposal, made only three months before the planned flight date, shows a complete lack of understanding on the part of OKB-1 management of the training and fitness required for spaceflight. Kamanin has had eight cosmonauts (Komarov, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Bykovsky, Voronov, Kolodin, Gagarin, and Nikolayev) training for this flight since September 1965. Yet Mishin and Tyulin have been shopping this absurd proposal to Smirnov, Ustinov, and Malinovskiy, who do not know enough to reject it.

1966 July 25 - .

VVS Victory on Soyuz crew issue - .
Nation: USSR. Related Persons: Tyulin; Mishin; Malinovskiy; Khrunov; Gorbatko; Voronov; Kolodin; Severin. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1; Soyuz 2A; Soyuz s/n 3/4. Spacecraft: Yastreb. Tyulin advises Kamanin that Ustinov has instructed Mishin to accept that Soyuz spacecraft will be commanded by a VVS pilot cosmonaut, with OKB-1 providing cosmonauts for the engineering support role. Mishin is to immediately send four candidates from OKB-1 to Kamanin for cosmonaut training. Kamanin feels this is only a 50% victory, and vows to accelerate submission of the letter from Malinovskiy to the Central Committee, demanding that the support cosmonaut seats also be filled by trained VVS engineer cosmonauts (e.g. Khrunov, Gorbatko, Voronov, and Kolodin). Meanwhile spacesuit designer Severin informs Kamanin that OKB-1 has insisted that the outer hatch of Soyuz will remain at 660 mm diameter, even though he has told them for a long time that the minimum diameter for a cosmonaut in spacesuit with a life support system backpack is 700 mm. Kamanin agrees to support him, but notes the change can only be made in later spacecraft; it is too late to change the first production run.

1966 August 23 - .

Soyuz recovery training at sea - .
Nation: USSR. Related Persons: Nikolayev; Bykovsky; Komarov; Khrunov; Gorbatko; Kolodin; Voronov; Smirnov; Afanasyev, Sergei; Burnazyan; Keldysh; Volkov; Kubasov; Grechko. Program: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK; Yastreb. Nikolayev, Bykovsky, Komarov, Khrunov, Gorbatko, Kolodin, and Voronov complete two parachute jumps each, with landing at sea. Training in sea-recovery by helicopter, with the cosmonauts in spacesuits, will be completed over the next two days. Smirnov is ready to sign a letter from Afanasyev, Burnazyan and Keldysh creating a new civilian cosmonaut training centre under the Ministry of Medium Machine Building, separate from the VVS centre. The letter is not coordinated with the Defence Ministry, and contradicts the letter sent by the four marshals to the Central Committee. Kamanin prepares a vigorous refutation of the letter's position. The physicians' board on OKB-1 candidates has only cleared Yeliseyev for flight - they could not agree on Volkov, Kubasov, and Grechko. OKB-1 only submitted four candidates for review, not the eight promised.

Rudenko agrees with Kamanin's plan, except he urges him to assign more cosmonauts to the Soyuz 7K-OK group, and include OKB-1 cosmonauts in the 7K-OK, L1, and L3 groups, and Academy of Science cosmonauts in the L1 and L3 groups.

These cosmonaut assignments were in constant flux, and many cosmonauts were assigned to train for more than one program - resulting in multiple claims in later years that 'I was being trained for the first moon flight'.

Meeting on crew selections for the L3 program. - .
Nation: USSR. Related Persons: Kuznetsov, Nikolai Fedorovich; Gagarin; Leonov; Bykovsky; Nikolayev; Popovich; Voronov; Khrunov; Gorbatko; Artyukhin; Kubasov; Makarov; Rukavishnikov; Mishin. Program: Lunar L3. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-LOK. Attending are Kuznetsov, Gagarin, Khlebnikov. There are three training groups: Soyuz, L1, and L3. Mishin and the MOM are holding up further training of cosmonauts until the VVS agrees to accept Mishin's candidates from TsKBEM. In any case, Mishin's attitude is that 'automation in space is everything. Humans in space are only supposed to monitor the operation of automated systems'. L3 cosmonauts selected by the VVS are: Leonov, Bykovsky, Nikolayev, Popovich, Voronov, Khrunov, Gorbatko, Artyukhin, Kubasov, Makarov, and Rukavishnikov. The official requirements: balanced composition of a crew according to mass requirements (no more than 70 kg weight per cosmonaut), and the ability to monitor fully automated function of the L3. According to official documents, the crew's primary function is to guide the flight, but now Mishin intends that their primary role will be as subjects of psychological and physical observations to establish the adaptation of the human organism to space flight).

1968 September 23 - .

L1 lunar crew selections - .
Nation: USSR. Related Persons: Mishin; Leonov; Voronov; Bykovsky; Rukavishnikov; Popovich; Makarov. Program: Lunar L1; Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1; Soyuz 7K-OK. Meeting of VVS, Mishin, and other designers at Fedosiya to review trials of the improved Soyuz parachute system. The Soyuz is cleared for manned flights. Mishin tells Leonov he will not support him in his bid to make the first lunar flight. Kamanin tells Leonov that of the three crews - Leonov-Voronov, Bykovsky-Rukavishnikov, Popovich-Makarov - the Bykovsky crew is favoured.

Mishin and Kamanin select candidates for the lunar landing mission. - .
Nation: USSR. Related Persons: Mishin; Leonov; Bykovsky; Voronov; Khrunov; Yeliseyev; Makarov; Rukavishnikov; Patsayev; Afanasyev, Sergei. Program: Lunar L3. They are Leonov, Bykovsky, Voronov, Khrunov, Yeliseyev, Makarov, Rukavishnikov, and Patsayev. Mishin expects a landing by the end of 1970; Kamanin thinks this is impossible. Afanasyev and Mishin propose modernisation of the N1, but this will take three to four years, by which time the booster will be essentially obsolete. The second launch of the N1 is set for 3 July. It would be a welcome miracle if it flew, but it still would not be enough to erase the American lead in the moon race.